Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Grade 6 & 7 curriculum: Natural science / Geology & Astronomy

Geology and Astronomy
by Charles Kovacs
Cost is about R100 to R150 depending on the exchange rate. Book Depository does not charge for shipping. Loot shipping is free for orders over R230 so even if the exchange rate is not doing too well, it might still be cheaper to buy from Book Depository if you are getting a single book.

The first part of this book describes the different kinds of rocks, soil and mountains found on our planet, and explores how they came into being. This section deals with the depths of the earth, and the long ages of time.

In contrast, the second part examines the heights of our universe, in the movement of the sun, moon, and stars. There bodies give us our sense of day, month, and year.

Throughout, Kovacs links the phenomena he describes with human experience, how they affect people in different parts of the world.

Geology
1. The Children of the Earth
2. The Story that the Mountains Tell
3. Young and Old Rocks: Granite
4. The First Rocks
5. Volcanic Rocks
6. The Restless Earth
7. Some Different Rocks
8. More about limestone
9. Coal
10. The Work of Water
11. The Circulation of Water
12. Winds
13. Glaciers
14. The Story of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh
Astronomy
15. The Heart and the Sun
16. The Sun's Daily Movement
17. The Sun During the Year
18. The Calendar
19. Sundials and Time
20. The Circling Stars and the Pole Star
21. The curvature of the Earth
22. Longitude and Latitude
23. The Circle
24. The Stars and Sirius
25. The Daily Movement of Stars and Sun
26. The Zodiac and Procession of the Equinox
27. The Cosmic or Platonic Year
28. The Seven Classical Planets
29. The Moon
30. Tides and Other Lunar Influences
31. Easter
32. The Planets
33. Pythagoras
34. Ptolemy
35. Copernicus
36. Tycho Brahe
37. Johannes Kepler
38. Galileo and the Telescope
39. Through the Telescope
40. Comets and Meteorites
41. The Atmosphere of the Earth

Geology would be taught in grade 6 - I would do a three week block for this - and astronomy in grade 7 - this would be about a six week block.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Grade 1 curriculum: Book list

  • How the Alphabet was Made, A Just So Story, by Rudyard Kipling
  • Roots Shoots Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy
  • Fly, Eagle, Fly an African Tale retold by Christopher Gregorowski
  • Kalinzu and the Oxpeckers by Jeremy Grimsdell
  • Once Upon a Time by Niki Daly
  • All the Magic in the World by Wendy Hartmann
  • Desert December by Dorian Haarhoff
  • Where's Jamela? By Niki Daly
  • One Round Moon and a star for me by Ingrid Mennen
  • Not so fast Songololo by Niki Daly
  • Lena's bottle tree by Wendy Maartens and Anna- Carien Goosen
  • Old Bob's Brown Bear by Niki Daly
  • The Gift of the Sun by Dianne Stewart and Jude Daly
  • Mama, Papa, and Baby Joe by Niki Daly
  • Charlie's House By Reviva Schermbrucker
  • Nama Kwa's garden by Mary Clanahan
  • The Dove by Dianne Stewart
  • Grimm's fairy tales.
  • Pooh bear stories by A.A. Milner
  • Pelle's new suit by Elsa Beskow
  • The Story of the Root Children by Sibylle Von Olfers
These books are great and my children enjoyed them up to grade three and some of them beyond that.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Grade 1 curriculum: Letters

Introducing the lettersA fun way to introduce the alphabetical letters is through stories. The grade 1 child is still in the fantasy stage of life, wanting to play with dinosaurs, fairies, princes, princesses, etc. So, why not bring this into their school work. The ideal way to bring this in is in a three day rhythm.

Day 1. Tell them the story. Have a picture about the story drawn on the black board so they can look at it while you are telling the story. Then after you have told the story, draw a picture about the story. Your child may copy you or draw their own picture. Bring the letter you are introducing into your picture.

Day 2. Remember the story from yesterday together. Prompt the child to help her remember. Write a sentence about the story on the board and have the child practice writing it. Model something from the story with modelling beeswax or plasticine.

Day 3. You could do a wet-on-wet painting. This is a very basic water colour painting done on wet paper. Then write the sentence you practiced yesterday into your main lesson book.

Things to do when introducing a new letter or number for that matter.
  1. Form them with beeswax or plasticine.
  2. Paint them, heaven to earth.
  3. Draw them in a same tray.
  4. Make them with rope, string and blocks.
  5. Make reading rings.
  6. Learn poems about the letters and numbers.
Stories for each letter
A
Hay for my Ox
Magic Spindle
B
The Three Bears
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Queen Bee
Snow White and Rose Red
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
Mother Mary's Child
C
Dick Whittington and His Cat
White Cat
Hungry Cat
Canoeing Story
Poor Miller's Boy and His Cat
Puss and Boots
Companionship for he Cat and The Mouse
D
Hansel and Gretel
The Donkey
Snowflake and the Dragon
Singing Soaring Lark
Mother Holle
E
Golden Key
F
Fisherman and His Wife
Lambkin and the Little Fish
Frog Prince
G
Golden Goose
The Goose Girl
Grey Brown Horse
H
Mother Holle
Fisherman and His Wife
The House in the Forest
Hansel and Gretel
The three Feathers
Hut in the Forest
Seven kids and a Wolf
I
King's Son Who Feared Nothing
The Secret Name of the King
J
Jack and the Bean
Water for Life
Jack Frost
Jorinda and Jorinda
The Jew Among Thorns
Clow of God
K
Any King Story
Three Languages
Our Lady's Child
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
King of the Golden Mountain
King Thurshbeard
L
Cinderella
The Prince Who Feared Nothing
The Singing Soaring Lark
The Elves and the Shoemaker
M
Simeli Mountain
The Castle of Flames
N
Nix of the Mill Pond
Mother Inkle
The Nail
O
Gnome
The treasure Chest
The Proud Prince
The Goose Girl
P
Peter and the Wolf
Prince Hyncinth
Dear Little Princess
King Thrushbeard
Snow White and Rose Red
Briar Rose
any Prince or Princess Story
Q
(introduce with U)
Mother Mary's Child
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfes
The Goose Girl
Queen Summer
Queen with am Umbrella
R
Rumpelstiltskin
Runner
Little Prince am school
The Lordly Cock
Small white Snake
S
The White Snake
Six Swans
Discontented Stream
Three Snake Leaves
T
Three Little Men in the Forest
The Tree and the Boy
Mr. Who
The Singing Soaring Lark
The Prince Who Feared Nothing
U
Queen's umbrella
V
Nix of the Mill Pond
Mother Mary's Child
Snow white and the Seven Dwarfes
Valley of Weavers
W
The Crystal Ball
The Fisherman and his Wife
Water of Life
Little Prince at School
X
Brother Ox and Brother Ass
Four Skillful Brothers
Mix of Milk Pond
The Three Feathers
Y
The Y in the Road
Z
The Golden Key
The Crooked Man (Nursery Rhyme)

As you can see you can use a story for two or more letters. I would introduce about three letters a week. This does not have to be in alphabetical order.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Grade 6 curriculum: Ancient Rome.

Ancient Rome
 by Charles Kovacs
Cost is about R100 to R150 depending on the exchange rate. Book Depository does not charge for shipping. Loot shipping is free for orders over R230 so even if the exchange rate is not doing too well, it might still be cheaper to buy from Book Depository if you are getting a single book.

'This book includes the most exciting stories of Roman history: the founding of Rome, the early battles against Hannibal and the Carthaginians, Julius Caesar's conquests of Gaul and Britain, Antony and Cleopatra, the decline and fall of the Empire, and the beginning of the Dark Ages.'


From the Foundation of Rome to the time of Marits and Sulla
1. Earlier Civilizations
2. Slavery and the Gift of Christ
3. The Latin people
4. Romulus and Remus
5. The Foundation of Rome
6. The Sabine Woman
7. The Etruscans
8. The Republic of Rome
9. How Horatius Kept the Bridge
10. Patricians and Plebeins
11. Roman Laws and Ways
12. Carthage
13. Hannibal
14. Hannibal Ante Portas!
15. The Destruction of Carthage
16. A Patrician's Home
17. The Plebeians' Home
18. The Cause of the Plebeians
19. Marius
20. The Betrayal of Jugurtha
21. The People from the North
22. Rome is Saved
23. Marius: Public Enemy
24. Marius in Exile
25. Marius' Return
26. The Death of Marius
27. Spartacus
Caesars and Christians
28. Julius Caesar
29. Power
30. Gaul
31. The Celtic People
32. Britain
33. The Rubicon
34. Greetings, O King
35. The Ides of March
36. At Philippi
37. Antony and Cleopatra
38. God on Earth
39. In Palestine and in Rome
40. Caesars and Christians
41. The Arena
Early History of Britain and the Fall of the Roman Empire
42. The Stone Age
43. The Bronze Age
44. The Iron Age
45. Boadicea
46. Alban
47. The Germanic Tribes
48. The Empire Divided
49. The Vision of Constantine
50. The Monks
51. Attila the Hun
52. The Fall of Rome
53. The End of the Empire
54. Angles and Saxons
55. The Bishop of Rome
56. Winfred

Caleb and I are busy with this as our main lesson at the moment. I made it a six week lesson. I will not do this again. I will definitely turn it into two main lessons of four weeks each. Otherwise, we have really enjoyed it.